The Price of Perilous Piloting in Nevada

A Grave Reminder

The Grim Reaper has been keeping himself mighty busy on Nevada’s highways, and if the latest numbers are correct, he ain’t planning to retire anytime soon. Last year alone, 412 families had the misfortune of setting an extra place at supper out of habit, only to remember that their loved one had gone and met their end on the asphalt instead.

Clark County, always eager to be the biggest and best at everything, contributed 293 of those unfortunate souls to the tally. And to keep things exciting, 2024 decided to one-up its predecessor with 22 more names added to the roll call of the dearly departed.

Now, you might wonder what brand of foolishness is responsible for all this calamity. According to the sages at Zero Fatalities, more than half of these misadventures involved some feller who mistook his whiskey for wisdom and took to the road in an advanced state of enthusiasm.

Speeding, too, did its fair share of the reaping, contributing to a third of these unfortunate demises—because nothing says “bound for glory” quite like seeing how fast a man can get himself from here to eternity.

To drive the point home—preferably at a responsible and legal speed—Nevada State Police held a vigil to honor the fallen and, one can assume, to plead with the rest of us to use a lick of common sense. The message was simple–if you must drink, then by all means, drink—but kindly refrain from piloting a ton of metal down the thoroughfare while under the influence.